Every pitcher goes through the occasional "dead arm" period, most often early in the season. But when you've spent 345 career days (and two entire seasons) on the disabled list, the way Ben Sheets has, you need a stronger way to describe it:

Injuries are never fun, even when they take their toll on teams you root against. There exists something unfair with regards to when they occur, as best-laid plans set forth at the onset of the season can spiral out of control if players counted on to contribute are literally unable to play the game. They can also come out of nowhere, a statement to which the Phillies will easily attest; arguably the healthiest team in the sport over the last two years, they have experienced situations this season when their backup shortstop needed his backup to play. Injuries can also have a compounding effect on team resources, especially if the bug-bitten player is costly; not only does the team lose his production and on the field, but his salary requirements could prevent them from acquiring an impactful replacement.

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Full predictions and ballots for the senior circuit, plus who might be on their way to winning it all.

Yesterday we started our predictions miniseries with a look at the American League. Opening Day means that it's time for our National League and World Series picks.

Each author's division standings predictions may be found later in the article. Here, we present a wisdom-of-crowds summary of the results. In each table you'll find the average rank of each team in their division, plus the results of our preseason MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year voting. Coming off of their win on the season's inaugural night, BP likes the Mets to take the NL East again, and sees a three-team horse race in the Central.

Derek tackles a Sheets-Harang duel, and one pitcher gets the better of it in the return of Prospectus Game of the Week.

The Reds, who lead the wild card race and are within scratching distance of the Cardinals for the lead in the NL Central, started off the major trading by dealing their starting shortstop (Felipe Lopez) and their starting rightfielder (Austin Kearns) to the Washington Nationals for a gift basket of middle relievers--Gary Majewski, Bill Bray, and Darryl Thompson--along with infielders Royce Clayton and Brendan Harris. The big trade was an acknowledgment of the weakness of the Reds bullpen--even now, with their new, improved bullpen, the Reds are still tenth in the league in WXRL, and fifteenth in Adjusted Runs Prevented--and a decision to emphasize defense. Still, that doesn't change the fact that the Reds surrendered two youngish full-time position players, one of whom was an All-Star last year, for three no-name relievers and a couple of role players.

Each author's ballot may be found later in the article. Here, we neatly summarize
the results. In each division standings table you'll find the average rank of the team, plus the standard deviation. The lower the standard
deviation, the more in agreement the authors were about that team's place in the division standings. In our AL column, the
Royals had a standard deviation of 0, meaning that all authors agreed they would finish last. We have similar consensus with
the old/new Washington Nationals, also picked to finish last across the board. Such agreement is rare around here, and
obviously means that both the Royals and Nationals will finish third in their respective divisions.

Welcome all to the results of the Baseball Prospectus Mid-Season Awards.
The points system is 10-7-5-3-1 for the MVP and Cy Young Awards, and 5-3-1 for the Rookie Awards. BP authors' picks, with all-too-clever comments, are included here, below the awards standings.
Hitters: Ballots, Points (1st Place Votes), (Avg/OBP/SLG/RARP/VORP)
Pitchers: Ballots, Points (1st Place Votes), (ERA, IP, SNWAR or ARP, VORP)

Welcome all to the results of the Baseball Prospectus Mid-Season Awards.

The points system is 10-7-5-3-1 for the MVP and Cy Young Awards, and 5-3-1 for the Rookie Awards. BP authors' picks, with all-too-clever comments, are included here, below the awards standings.